Top-tier Family Sailboats: Exceptional Yachts for a Seafaring Family Adventure
The European Yacht of the Year Awards, a prestigious event in the yachting industry, honours the best in yacht design and performance annually. One of the most anticipated categories is the Best Family Yacht, a title that recognises vessels offering comfort, safety, and versatility for families.
In recent years, several yachts have stood out for their family-friendly features. The Hanse 360, praised for its ease of sailing, responsiveness, and communication from the single rudder, is a versatile family cruiser. It offers options for two or three cabins, one or two heads, diesel or electric propulsion, and multiple sail, rig, and keel choices. Below decks, the Hanse 360 offers a lot of space in a clever two or three-cabin layout.
The Hanse 410, the latest offering from Hanse's collaboration with Berret-Racoupeau, shares an appealing modern hull shape with the larger sister 460. It showed respectable performance and figures, and proved easy to manage short-handed, thanks to the self-tacking jib and winches positioned to hand. The interior of the Hanse 410 test boat offered a huge amount of stowage accessible from the cockpit or interior.
Another contender in the family yacht category is the Dufour 44, a family yacht with a lot of hull to push through the water but comes to life once the breeze reaches the teens. It features four cabins, including two doubles forward, but it only becomes reactive once the breeze is up to the mid teens.
The Bavaria C46, winner of the Best Family Yacht award in 2024, is praised for its modern full shape, vast deck and accommodation space, and performance for its size. It offers a lot of space in a clever layout, making it an ideal choice for families.
The Elan Impression 43, with its unique rustic knotted oak finish, is another yacht that has been noted for its family-friendly features. The Maxus 35, a respectable entry-level yacht, is built by the Northman shipyard in Poland and offers reasonable accommodation.
The RM 1380, with its naturally bright raised saloon that makes it feel more like being on a multihull, and the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350, the last in the line to benefit from Jeanneau's eighth generation upgrades and available with the swing keel option, are also worth mentioning.
The Beneteau Oceanis 37.1, all about easy sailing and handling, and the Dufour 41, a family yacht with four cabins, are other yachts that have been recognised for their family-friendly characteristics.
While the winners of the Best Family Yacht category for 2023 and projected 2025 awards are not yet available, the Hanse 360 was announced as the winner for 2025.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information on the Best Family Yacht category, we recommend checking the official European Yacht of the Year website or their press releases annually published around late autumn or early winter each year.
- The Hanse 360, recognized for its versatility in families, offers a variety of choices in sail and rig configurations, cabins, and propulsion systems, all while providing ample living space below decks for a comfortable sailing lifestyle.
- Lifestyle choices extend beyond sailing techniques, as shown in the Elan Impression 43's unique rustic knotted oak finish that appeals to those seeking a fusion of fashion-and-beauty with their nautical pursuits.
- For families planning travel adventures, the RM 1380's bright and spacious raised saloon, reminiscent of a multihull, ensures a comfortable living space in new destinations, while the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350, available with a swing keel option, offers versatility in anchoring locations for exploring food-and-drink cultures and home-and-garden experiences.
